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I’ll pass by the abuse of metaphors (do milestones have hearts?) but not of trees, this being another case of certain designers’ mania for picking them up, moving them around and putting them where they don’t want to be.
Those words from the studio also take liberties with the idea of art. They call the Tree of Trees a “sculpture”. Boris Johnson may once have compared Heatherwick to Michelangelo, but David it is not.
— The Guardian
The Observer critic joined a plethora of online commentators that picked apart Heatherwick Studio’s “Tree Of Trees” Earth Day announcement by comparing it to last year’s fiasco surrounding the MVRDV-designed Marble Arch Mound, which he described as a “cartoon version of nature is... View full entry
Change is coming to the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) as Chief Executive Alan Vallance is stepping down in a surprise move announced by the organization on Wednesday. RIBA shared that Vallance will be departing to helm the influential 110-year-old Chartered Insurance Institute... View full entry
David Adjaye and Ron Arad’s design for a UK Holocaust Memorial has been halted by the country’s High Court following a legal challenge. As reported by UK outlet Building Design, the £100 million ($130 million) proposal was ruled to have been in breach of a one-hundred-year-old law which... View full entry
At least 18 “high street titans” – architecturally significant department stores that have fallen victim to profound changes in shopping patterns – are at risk of being permanently lost, according to a new report. But these “cathedrals of commerce”, as Émile Zola described them in his 1883 novel The Ladies’ Paradise, should be granted new lives – as art galleries, residential housing, community hubs and social spaces, says Save Britain’s Heritage. — The Guardian
The report Departing Stores: Emporia at Risk details the threats to department stores across the UK and what can be done to save these spaces. It covers 46 landmark department stores in town and city centers, some of which have been restored or developed while maintaining their architectural... View full entry
A trio of concerned letter writers replied to a March 31st opinion piece by The Guardian’s Owen Hatherley in which the critic declared that “hardline modern architecture is now something of a cult.” “A living city has to strike some sort of balance between avoiding the strangulation and... View full entry
A surprising number of new British construction projects are not in line with the country’s supposedly stringent sustainability mandates, according to a new industry poll published by the product information platform NBS. The survey revealed that just 14% of respondents worked on projects... View full entry
The British Museum is facing legal action from one of the UK’s leading heritage preservation organisations over its refusal to allow the 3D scanning of a piece in its Parthenon marbles collection.
The Institute for Digital Archaeology (IDA) said it would serve an injunction against the museum imminently, raising the stakes in the dispute between the two.
— The Guardian
The 269-year-old institution is said to have refused a request from the Oxford-based Institute for Digital Archaeology (IDA) that would have reproduced a metope from the Acropolis’ south-facing facade for an important proof of concept. The scans are supposed to allow for a robotic replication... View full entry
The 25-foot tall (7.6 meter) sculpture of a shark crashing through the roof of Magnus Hanson-Heine’s house in rural Oxford, England, is now a protected landmark — and he’s not happy about it. — The Associated Press
City Council members in Oxford voted earlier in the month to add the protest artwork to its Heritage Asset Register along with 16 other sites. Officially named the Headington Shark, the sculpture was installed on the anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki in 1986 as a powerful anti-war... View full entry
The search to replace ousted Architectural Association director Eva Franch i Gilabert has made some progress after the organization named its official list of shortlisted candidates on Monday. The Architects’ Journal is reporting that five names are being taken into consideration by the AA... View full entry
HS2 Ltd., the British non-departmental public body behind the development of High Speed 2 (HS2) national high-speed railway, has released an updated design for its new terminus station at London Euston. Two new images, updated from 2015, show the concept design for the interior and exterior... View full entry
Petitioners in the UK are bidding to have an early-career architectural worker elected as the next RIBA president as a change of direction for the 188-year-old organization which they charge as “losing touch with architects, students, and the next generation of talent.” In an open letter... View full entry
Humans have led nomadic lifestyles for thousands of years. We settle in one place, move to another–some of us never even settle at all. Our lives fluctuate, but save for the odd floating office or experimental walking house, our buildings remain anchored in place. Once they’re built, they only have two potential futures: demolish, or reuse. A new building in London, however, offers an interesting alternative: demount and move elsewhere. — Fast Company
The office building, designed by London-based architecture firm IF_DO, was made to be mobile, as it sits atop a “meanwhile space,” a location that hosts temporary buildings until the local council develops permanent plans for the space. This building will occupy the site in London's borough of... View full entry
A planning report for the scheme acknowledges criticism of the Sphere for its scale and massing, its impact on Stratford Station, and the impact of advertising on nearby residents. But it says the Sphere would ‘establish a strong sense of place at a scale that is not considered to be excessive, taking account of the established scale of surrounding buildings. — Architects' Journal UK
More than 1,000 objections were lodged against the project, which will come before the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) for a final approval vote on Tuesday. Their voices echo the derision Guardian critic Oliver Wainwright and others have parroted against the giant LED display’s... View full entry
The homegrown regeneration of a once-neglected industrial area on the edge of Kent, England is underway after Hollaway Studio revealed plans for a dynamic new “layered” public skatepark called F51. Billed as a full-tilt “adrenaline building,” the three-story structure includes a... View full entry
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has revealed a shortlist of seven teams in the running to lead the refurbishment and modernization of its 66 Portland Place headquarters in London. RIBA announced the planned redesign in October in a move that aims to reimagine the use of... View full entry
